


Summer Storm

by spacebromance



Series: Suitcases [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:53:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1275559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacebromance/pseuds/spacebromance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sulu and Chekov rent a convertible for a summer roadtrip. (Chekov drives.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Storm

"What are you doing?"

Pavel glances over. He's just signaled for the upcoming exit to the rest stop. Hikaru is frowning at him, his eyebrows furrowed together. Pavel shrugs his hands around the steering wheel, because it should be obvious: "I'm taking the exit. We should stop and put the canopy up."

They've been driving toward a cloudbank for the last two hours. Pavel was content to leave the convertible's top down while there was still sunshine to be had, but now that the clouds have overtaken them, he's eager to get the roof properly situated again. He doesn't like the darkening color of the clouds he sees, and he's not keen to be caught in a rainstorm.

Hikaru, however, seems undaunted by the prospect.

"Oh, don't, please?" he pleads, reaching out from where he'd been sprawled against the passenger-side door to nudge the car back onto the highway. Pavel's hands reflexively follow Hikaru's--trained by years at the _Enterprise_ helm to cede maneuvering control whenever Hikaru asserts it--and when their fingers brush against each other it's still as electric as the first time Hikaru's hand touched Pavel's over the helm.

This time, however, Pavel is less inclined to be enamored by his charms. He swats Hikaru's hand away and scowls as the exit passes. "Why did I just do that."

"Because I love the way the wind makes your curls wild." Hikaru says it with an edge of smugness, like he knows that Pavel will do anything for him if he asks, and maybe Pavel will, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. Hikaru slides across the bench seat to card his fingers through Pavel's hair.

"Yes," Pavel scoffs, feeling stubborn and wanting to sound peevish, though he secretly loves it when Hikaru does this. "But I think you will find the effect is ruined when they're wet."

"Stop worrying. We can take the next exit."

"That's sixty-three miles!"

"Somehow I think we'll survive." Hikaru drapes an arm over Pavel's shoulders and kisses his cheek. "Tell me about your lecture series at Moscow?"

Pavel knows that he's being distracted--bribed, really--with the opportunity to talk about his research. Hikaru has a respectable understanding of the basics, but his appreciation for the more subtle nuances of Pavel's work extends only so far as he can use it to his own advantage. Still, Pavel will take pretty much any opportunity to talk about his science with Hikaru, and this is no exception.

He launches into an eager explanation of his deconstruction of Lorentz-Nejem-Song metrics, and they're maybe forty miles further down the road before Pavel realizes how effective Hikaru's distraction tactic has been. _Too_ effective. He realizes too late that the air ahead of them looks different--a rippling quality; a rolling, shimmering texture he's never seen before--and Pavel stops talking mid-sentence to stare at it.

"Hikaru," he says, voice flat, because he's reasonably sure of what he's seeing.

"Mmm?"

"Is that _rain._ "

Hikaru glances up, and then _beams_ at the road like he's just won some prize, and Pavel opens his mouth to tell him that he's _insane_ , absolutely _mad_ , but then their car breaks through the oncoming wall of rain.

It's like they've driven into a waterfall. It's a _deluge_ pouring down on them: thick, fat droplets that splash over everything, soaking them both in seconds. Pavel sputters with outraged shock and pulls their car onto the shoulder. The downpour continues around them, suddenly so thick that the space seems to be more water than air.

" _Ublyudok!_ Hikaru, you absolute _bastard!"_

Pavel moves to get up--to pull the canopy over them--but Hikaru grabs at him. He drags Pavel back into the seat, and he's grinning with every watt of boyish charm that he owns, but Pavel refuses to be charmed with this.

"Are you happy?" he shouts, still outrageously indignant. "Is this what you wanted?"

But Hikaru _laughs_. Even though they're both _sopping wet,_ even though the car is going to take _days_ to dry out. He's got his head tilted back and he's laughing up at the clouds, looking the happiest that Pavel has ever seen him, and he's _deranged._ He's clearly had some kind of mental breakdown.

Pavel's clothes hang off his arms like thick, heavy rags, and they send droplets flying everywhere when he shakes Hikaru. "I told you we should have stopped earlier! We're _soaked._ "

"I know!" Hikaru shouts back over the rain, grinning at Pavel. "Isn't it great?"

" _Great?_ " Pavel squawks. " _Great?!_ "

He's still breathless with outrage, gasping and sputtering as water runs down his face and over his mouth, and he just stares at Hikaru, waiting for all of this to make sense, and then Hikaru leans in and kisses him.

Pavel makes a shocked noise against Hikaru's mouth, and stares at him in confusion. But then Hikaru's hands come up, and one cradles the side of Pavel's face, the other running up the back of his neck to thread through his hair, and Pavel melts into it like liquid, pouring himself into Hikaru. They crash together, chasing the warmth of each others' mouths, and the rain thrums between them, wild, running down their hair and over their faces and dripping off their noses as they press together.

When Hikaru breaks away for air, it takes Pavel a moment to regain his balance. He blinks slowly, eyes fluttering, lashes damp with rainwater.

"You said you wanted Earth experiences," Hikaru says, breathless, beaming. "How's this one?"

They stare at each other for a moment, letting the rain crash around them. Pavel’s face is still flushed, his breath shortened. Hikaru wraps his arms around Pavel, folding him up, and Pavel lets himself be held, feeling out this moment.

"It's just for a little while," Hikaru whispers.

And he could be talking about the rainstorm, or about their wet clothes, but somehow Pavel doesn't think he means either.

"Okay," Pavel agrees, and he takes Hikaru's face in his hands and kisses him again--slowly, more gently this time--like he's drinking from him. "Let's enjoy it, then."

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [captwingcdrhastheconn](http://captwingcdrhastheconn.tumblr.com) and [chekovdidyoubreakmyship](http://chekovdidyoubreakmyship.tumblr.com), who requested "Chekov and Sulu on a road trip in a yellow convertible. Chekov drives." Somehow it became about snogging in the rain. I don't know. (Also, the title is misquoted from a poem whose name I can't remember, so if anyone happens to recognize it and could drop me a line to let me know where it's from, that'd be awesome.)


End file.
